Time to rejoin the pack

Over the last 4 to 6 ish years that Microsoft computing has been relatively stagnant, I've invested a lot of time in "branch solutions". For example, I don't use ASP.NET Webforms – I use MonoRail. As a result I've had an equivalent of master pages for years now. While this was a great solution at the time I made the decision, it now means I've strayed a bit too far from the pack to really know what's going on. Sure, I know the marketing pitches for all these new technologies almost backwards (I even present on some of them), however I don't use these new technologies. Well, it's time to see what's out there and spend a few weeks in "official land".